My Parathroidectomy

Apparently mine was abnormal for the past 10-12 years causing all sorts of damage to my body, I just didn't know it. I am talking about my parathyroid gland,a gland about the size of a grain of rice in it's normal state. We have 4 of these little glands and they sit doing their thing on the backside of the thyroid gland in our lower neck. What these little grains of rice do, is crucial to calcium regulation in our body and going through this process with Dr Norman in Tampa was worth a blog since I learned more about calcium and parathyroid disease than I ever learned in medical school, 25 years of being a doctor, or from books, endocrinologists or other sources of medical information. Even though I am an Oncologist,and don't specialize in endocrine disorders, I guarantee that I will be looking at calcium in a whole new light after I realize how silent hyperparathyroidism can damage you bones and more. When I first spoke to Dr Norman on the phone he told me this seemingly benign disorder can kill you ! And after what I have learned, I believe him.....just some basic physiology first...( I am writing this to educate about calcium prland parathyroid disease so what has happened to my body doesn't happen to you! And I am a doctor , I feel guilty I should have put it all together earlier....but the warning signs can be attributed to other reasons for your symptoms.)The major function of the parathyroid glands is to maintain calcium regulation within a very narrow range so the nervous and muscular systems can function properly.It does this by releasing a hormone called PTH( parathyroid hormone) and elevated levels of this hormone causes bone destruction and subsequent release of calcium into the bloodstream leading to elevated blood calcium levels or hypercalcemia Common symptoms include osteoporosis ,kidney stones,weakness,fatigue,bone pain,muscle soreness,nausea,constipation,changes in mental awareness( brain fog), excessive thirst and urination. Or you may notice none if these symptoms . In my case I had severe osteoporosis as far back as about 40 . I was told it was probably genetic since my mother has it too. I have had constipation and even went through several colonoscopies to find out why. My mother has this too,.Fatigue I noticed more recently.,despite yoga daily or biking. So eventually my claim level in the mid 10-11 range got noticed and I ordered a PTH on myself, the one came back in high normal range ( still can be hyperparathyroidism) An endocrinology ref feral followed and my medications changed , all calcium supplements stopped etc. My next PTH was high! And the diagnosis was made. I wanted minimally invasive surgery, something I felt a surgeon who only took out parathyroids could do.But did such a surgeon exist? So where did I go to get my referral ? The Internet. I found Dr Norman in Tampa and yesterday I had my parathyroidectomy. The
Parathyroid center at Tampa General Hospital was a well oiled machine, efficient yet friendly fro registration to transporter.The nurses were outstanding both professionally and had a way of treating each patient as their only patient,with all the caring and compassion one could ask for. They were more than accommodating to my husband who sat with me the whole time except when I was in surgery. I sat back in my bed watching the process of the clinic and was so impressed from a doctors standpoint. The level of care was remarkable . But it gets better, The doctors, whom I had never met before and had only spoken to them on the phone had an unbelievable knack for putting me at ease,explaining the procedure over and over,and their relaxed confident but humble personalities left me in a total state of confidence that I was exactly were I should be.And from 5:30am until about 10:30 am I was totally taken care of by Dr's Norman and Politz,leaving with their cell phone and home numbers ,all my post-op information in overwhelming detail and even pictures of my parathyroid they removed and a thyroid nodule they incidentally found and removed. Below is a little pictorial of my morning there...





Dinner with friends the night before











Went to Tampa the day before surgery





The Vinoy , about a half hour from the hospital but worth it.





Getting my neck ready for the operation





My neck , line less and scarless the morning of the surgery.





Getting ready...no makeup allowed...sorry!





One of the great staff...they were really all superb!





I am back! Was gone for 2 hours but surgery itself only took 17 minutes.don't remember a thing! Great Anesthesia!





Left for OR at 8am





My parathyroid adenoma . It should be the size of a rice grain. They test how much PTH this gland was making in the operating room. It was making 435. Normal is 30-80. They test all four glands but clearly this was the big bad one!





Incidental thyroid nodule they found. They saved me from a second surgery in a few years.





That's the bandage I left with.





Got to take 4 of these a day or my blood calcium levels will get too low( a whole new bunch of symptoms) They give you this bottle to start taking on your way home as soon as you register!t





The next morning...I am swollen and sore,hoarse and can't swallow without pain, buy it should be getting better daily. What is going to really get better now are my bones! Dr Norman says in 5-10 years all the damage should be reversed as long as I keep exercising and taking calcium. by the way, if you have osteoporosis based on hyperparathyroidism, the biphosphonates I have been taking all these years don't work!

Location:Tampa General Hospital Parathyroid Center